A Hike, Lots of Rain, and an Air-Lift Rescue (no joke!).

I can hardly believe our big hike that we have been fundraising like for like crazy for the last 6 weeks is over!  (In case we aren't FB friends and you missed it, last weekend, two teams undertook a 22 and 10 mile hike in the Mourne Mountains to support the incredible Galway Hospice Foundation, in memory of our dear Sue - you can read all about it here).  It has been a very hectic couple of months since we set the wheels rolling on this, especially since during that time the Husband and I organised and executed a big move of all our things into storage and relocated to my sisters house, went on holidays, and (Sister and I) did a trial run of our walk last weekend. 

But Saturday August 13 came whether we were ready or not!  We were two groups - one group, consisting of my husband, his father, my brother, and three good friends, attempted the 22 mile hike of the Mourne Wall - a seriously challenging hike in good conditions, never mind the terrible conditions they faced last Saturday.  The met and set off at 6AM, prepared for 12+ hours of seriously hiking up peaks and down valleys.  

 Here we are all excited and ready to go!

The remaining 12 of us met at 11AM at the foot of Slieve Binnian, ready for our 10 mile hike to it's summit and back, then past the Blue Lough to overlook the reservoir and back, which, despite it's description, isn't at all an easy family walk - just ask my poor cousin.  But we'll get to that later.

So we were off!  When we checked the forecast the night before, it said sun sun sun from 6AM onward.  LIES!!!  We had rain 90% of the day.  It is Ireland in August, you know.

Allan, the horse-whisperer....

  And resident photographer.

This was early in our hike - thats the wall....obviously. :)

Behind those clouds there are about 4 peaks that you unfortunately can't see.  Thats where the 22-milers were to end their hike.

Almost at the top - it was like walking into a cloud.  Very low visibility and really wet.

Showing off the momentary view we had - and proving that I was, in fact, doing the hike too.

We made it to the top!  It really was like sitting in a cloud.  

Had mother nature been cooperating we would have been looking at this:

 And this:

 And this:

Aaaaaaaaand this:

 These were all taken when Sister and I did our practice hike the week before.

But instead, this was the best view we got - for about 30 seconds as a new set of clouds blew in:

But we were happy to finally be at the top...

And able to eat our lunches!

Sisters!  :)  Photo as we started the treck down. 

A glimpse of a rainbow as we neared the base of the mountain.

The Blue Lough...not looking so blue, thanks to those dark clouds!

Two more hikers (with 2 of our original group) come to meet us to do the last 5 miles! 

All of us (but one, who is behind the camera!

At the reservoir!  

We made it!

YAY!

A group shot (between bites of ginger nut biscuits!)

And not long after this, disaster struck!  Just as we came back around the Blue Lough, we saw that my poor cousin had fallen and her ankle was in really bad shape.  She was such a good sport, hardly complained at all - if it were me, I would have been in fits of tears!!  She was more concerned that she had ruined it for us (which she hadn't).  So we waited and waited for help to come and tried to keep her as warm and as dry as possible.

And then things got really exciting:

My cousin might kill me for saying this, but we all got so excited when the helicopter came swooping in to our rescue.  Well, my cousin's rescue.

All of us girls kept dreaming talking about how if we were in Wales right now it could be Prince William coming to our rescue.

Some of us might have giggled like school girls when one of the coast guard dudes waved at us as they flew overhead.  But I can't comment on that for certain.

They must have circled about 5 times overhead, which we all found kinda exciting.  It was definitely an unexpected end to our day, one we'd have much rather not have happened, of course.  

The South Down Coast Guard were stars - and good sports, too, as we took their photo over.... 

and over.....

and over....

Given the unexpected events of the afternoon, we didn't get back in our cars until 8:00PM.  By that time we were all cold, wet and starving!  We headed to Diamonds Restaurant in nearby Warrenpoint where we had a much deserved celebratory dinner.  Reunited with our other team of hikers (those crazy 22-milers), we exchanged photos and stories of our crazy day.  Here are some photos from our other group of hikers as they completed 9 peaks before the terrible weather made it too dangerous for them to continue, forcing them to head home a little earlier than expected:

It was a brilliant day.  Many thanks to all of you who donated in Sue's memory to support the amazing Galway Hospice Foundation.  If you didn't get a chance to donate but would still like to, it's not too late! Any donation, no matter what the size, would be greatly appreciated.

DUB -> LHR: LONDON, Part 2

Embarrassingly, it has been 2 months since we were in London and I have yet to post about the rest of our weekend away.  So here it is - better late than never, right?

In my first post about our weekend in London, I told you about our amazing tour of Highgate Cemetery - in my book, a must-visit if you appreciate the beauty and history of old (yet still functional) cemeteries.  And now I'll tell you what we got up to when we left Highgate.  [Hint:  it involved lots of delicious food, lots of walking, and - of course - jugs of Pimm's.  :) ]

Before we took a leisurely stroll over to Hempstead Heath, our first stop was the beautiful little village of Highgate....

...where we picked up a totally delicious salted beef and mustard sandwiches, a bottle of wine and some fabulous pastries.  I would share these delectable delights with you, but I *think* my brother has the only photos of that feast and even though I've asked him eleventy-squillion times, he has yet to send them to me.  So you're stuck with my limited selection of photos.  Thanks JJ.  :P  

I do, however, have a photo of the view of London from the top of Hampstead Heath - ain't it purty?

 

With our lovely hosts - JJ&K

After our lovely picnic in Hampstead Heath, we walked a lot and worked up quite a thirst <giant wink>.  So we strolled through Hampstead village (and kept our eyes pealed - in vain - for locals Gywnnie Paltrow and Dame Judy).  We stopped at a charming little pub called The Wells Tavern for a jug of Pimm's.

We sat outside in the sunshine, which was really lovely.  I ventured inside to visit the ladies room but took no photos of the interior EXCEPT the bathroom.  My heart skipped a beat at the glossy black subway tile with white grouting...

I'm a nerd. I know.  We strolled around Hempstead village, where I spotted this beautiful door (excuse the fact that it's cut off, my camera screen is broked).....

 ...and could resist browsing this amazing gourmet butcher/food shop. We wanted to buy everything, but somehow restrained ourselves.

At about that time, my feet felt like they were crying tears of dispair, pain and anguish in my beloved Converses.  This particular pair of Converses and I had trod many an exciting path together - through Paris, Southern France, Dublin, Galway, Washington D.C., New York, West Point, and everywhere in between, it seems.  However, somewhere in Hempstead Village they said I QUIT.   I ran (as fast as my aching feet could carry me) into the nearest Gap and bought myself this precise pair of City Flats, which were adorable on and very comfy but survived only about 36 hours of walking before they decided to get holes and fail me.  They're not the most sturdy shoes, but for a tenner I wasn't going to argue.  

So I snapped a quick pic of my Converses so I could remember what size I was (for online ordering, natch), chucked them in the bin and skipped happily to our next point of refreshment: The Southampton Arms:

All they serve are cask ales, which the men in our group loved, of course.  So we all tried what they had on tap and helped ourselves to pork pies and sausage rolls - for sustenance, you understand.  YUM!

I wish I had a full shot of the men at the table behind us in that photo - one of them had on a banana yellow suit, and his friends made no attempt to hide what they really thought of it.  I told P I'm getting him one for Christmas.  He was thrilled.

After a quick time check, we realised that we'd better get a wiggle on if we were going to make our next event of the day (keep in mind this is all one day - we did the Highgate tour that morning).  So we legged (and tube-ed) it to the Tower where we began our JACK THE RIPPER walking tour!  Here's K and I as we waited for it to begin.

 It was really interesting and we really enjoyed it!  It also afforded us a nice view of the Gherkin as we walked from spot to grisly spot:

We were starving when the tour finished at around 9:00PM.  JJ&K took us to the uber-popular Indian restaurant du jour, Tyyabs.

 When we arrived, we found a serpentine queue of people wrapped through the restaurant, around tables and chairs and diners who were enjoying what they were eating so much they didn't seem to notice or care.  By that point, we were salivating and seriously debated whether anyone would notice if we nicked their naan off the table.  :)  We waited for an hour (and sipped wine as we did - it's BYOB), but it was worth it.  The food was amazing.  The service was not so amazing, but we forgave them - just about.  

JJ has all the good photos of our dinner, this was the only one I captured.  It's blurry but you get the idea...

We flopped into bed, exhausted that night after a brilliant day of walking, sightseeing, eating and drinking.  :)  

The next morning, unfortunately, was to be our last in London.  We had brunch at the delicious High Road Brasserie in Chiswick (you can even stay in their adorable rooms at their High Road House), where I had eggs benedict and a bloody mary.  Perfection.  I loved their decor - apple green benches with globe pendants over the bar - the marble counters with dark wood, with mirrored bar - it was very vintage and definitely fabulous.  

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They had a fantastic bar:

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And look how cool their floor is:

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We unwillingly said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts and boarded the train for Heathrow, where Munchers was waiting for us, fast asleep in her crib, in Dublin.

It was a fantastic weekend - thanks so much, JJ & K!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Hi friends!  Remember me?  No?  Well, I can't blame you, it's been a long time.

Ok, so this is an old photo.  I think I've lost my ability to take a decent photo (something about turning 30 perhaps?), but the expression on my face here sums up I feel like all the time these days: crazy and exasperated!  :)

We have a had a seriously busy couple of months over here and I've been mum on the main reason for the craziness, but not anymore.  Actually most of you readers will already know as we're FB friends too, right?

Husband and I have made a big decision.  It was a very hard decision and one we have deliberated over for months.  For a number of reasons (that I am not going to get into), we have decided to leave Ireland and return to the United States.  In September - which, I have to keep reminding myself, is next month.

See - I told you it was a big decision.  I am feeling very bittersweet about this move.  On the one hand I am looking forward to starting a new chapter (we've done that thrice already in our six years of marriage), and once again living near my dearest friends.  On the other hand, I'm really sad to be leaving my family.  My comfort is that the world is a smaller place these days and that my parents are over in the States quite frequently so I know I'll see them - it's my siblings that I won't see so much, and my aunts and uncles.  And that does make me sad - for myself and for Munchkin, as I'd have loved her to grow up knowing that they're nearby and that she can see them often.  But such is an international marriage - one of our families will is going to get the short end of the stick and I guess now it's my turn.  Doesn't make it any easier, however.

Siblings in Spain last month - missing them already and we're not even gone yet.  :(

So - in the last month here's what's been on our plates:  family holiday in Spain (which was fantastic and much-needed - photos to come); sorting, purging, packing-up and moving out of our much-loved apartment; move in with my very generous sister in her lovely house; doctors appointments, doctors appointments, doctors appointments to make sure everything is taken care of before we leave; in-laws arriving for a 10 day visit; fundraising, training and organizing our 10 or 20 mile hike in the Mourne Mountains to raise money, in Sue's memory, for the Galway Hospice Foundation.  It's been a tad busy here in Camp K.  We've all been feeling a bit like this:

We are two days away from our big fundraising hike and we're excited but anxious, too, that we're not going to reach our €5,000 goal (at this moment, we're at €4,398).  If you've donated already, thank you SO much, it means so much to us.  It was the only way we could think of to thank the Hospice for being so wonderful and such a support to Sue during her final days, and to us during that difficult time.  If you haven't donated yet - maybe you'd give whatever you can, no matter how small.  Every penny makes a difference, believe.  You can click here to donate and to read more about our challenge and about why we're undertaking this walk for the Hospice.

Back to the big change.  Our plan is to move most likely during the second week of September (tickets are going to be bought this week, and my in-laws have graciously opened their home to us while we settle down and get on our feet, so to speak.  So if you're in the DC area (or fancy a little visit to the Capital city) please let us know - we would love to see you and can't wait to catch up with our friends who are already there!

For now I'm going to leave you with some photos of our family holiday in Spain.  We stayed here:


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Near a little town called Montillón in Galicia in Spain.  It was in the mountains and we rented a beautiful villa owned by the most generous and thoughtful landlords.  We had a pool, tennis courts, a lovely big garden and games room and we had a really wonderful time hanging out, cooking and just spending time together.  There was also a small mountain near the villa which we hiked (several times, for some of the group) in preparation for our hike on Saturday.  It was a really lovely time and of course went too fast.  So here it is in photos:

Our villa

Every property had one of these Galician "Horreos" - they're used to store corn

Tiniest church ever.

We celerbated our 6th Anniversary on the day we traveled to Spain.  (Fun fact - we spent our 1st anniversary on a plane, too - due to plane troubles, we flew to Mexico a day later than planned, which ended up being our anniversary.)

The beautiful town of Biaona, where we stopped on our way to Porto to catch our flight home.

Walking through the streets of Biaona

Of course the photo never does justice -but the moon was incredible!  The way the clouds were somehow made it seem as though we could reach out and touch the moon.  It was beautiful.

More to come soon - I promise!

STRESSED!

This is how I feel today.

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And this:

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And this:

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Typically after a vacation you're not supposed to feel this way, right?  The vacation didn't do this to me, btw!  I have so much to write about (if anyone is still reading this) - the rest of our London trip, our Spain vacation, and other news.  I wouldn't plan on seeing me much for a few days, however.  

In the meantime, here's a little (camera phone) pic of a lovely little town called Biaona in Spain where we had lunch one day.  More to come...eventually!